Methods for genetic assessment of heavy metal accumulation genes in tobacco variaties

BSc student: Ensar Peljto

Mentor: Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yildirim

Tobacco products are well known for being toxic to users due to the harmful ingredients that the tobacco plant possesses. Besides nicotine and tar, another group of toxic chemicals in this plant are heavy metals. The main purpose of this project is to explain the molecular biology methods, required for the assessment of whether Nicotiana tabacum variety native to Herzegovina region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, accumulate more or less heavy metals than the other varieties, by observing the expression levels of some genes involved in heavy metal accumulation. After the CdCl2 treatment, RNA was successfully isolated. For a successful cDNA synthesis, the isolated RNA molecules were treated with a DNAase enzyme to remove the DNA molecules. The qPCR results were not fully successful, although the may indicate that the domestic tobacco variety, if compared with the hybrid, which shows less expression of the PCS1 gene, indicating lower accumulation of Cadmium ions, being so more resistant to Cadmium stress.